Thursday, May 2, 2013

The BROWN Town

I thought the floor might cave from under my feet if I paced the floor of my living room one more time.

Tonight marked our first event as true ILC family members. We (the Brown alumni, sponsors, parents, Brown cohorts, school board members, and myself) met today at the Town Hall Restaurant in San Francisco to create network opportunities within the world of great education. This was a fantastic night of food, fellowship, and fraternizing.

From the Beginning:
As I got ready for the dinner, there was one thing on my mind: being on time. Images of getting to the BART station and having all these scowling faces waiting for me kept flashing through my head. I called my father at least 3 times within 15 minutes to make sure he came home to have enough time to get ready. Perhaps I was a little impatient, pacing the floor like a wild woman, but I did not want to be put on Evil Don's contact list. As we arrived at the BART station, on time (thankfully), a  wave of relief came over me. I spotted all the other Brownies and we got on the train without a hitch.

Then came my first challenge, talking to all the wonderful strangers. At first, I was not sure how to go about talking to all the ILC executives. However, as the evening progressed at the restaurant, the conversations came more natural and fluid. I realized that everyone I was talking with wanted to talk with me! I started receiving tips and advice from each and every person I met. The Town Hall Restaurant had become a town of Brown University. One person that I met in the hallway at the restaurant was not even with our group, yet had a friend who had graduated from Brown!

The underlying spider web of Brown was entrancing, and I had fell victim.

As the night came to a close, I felt fulfilled. And not only from the delicious food. The idea of being a part of a group that works to show students their potential was extremely inspiring. The Ivy League connection was becoming a piece of me. I knew the things to come might have me pacing the floor, but in the end I will be dancing with the world.  
  

1 comment:

Don Gosney said...

A Wild Woman? Really? I would have paid money to see that.

For the life of me, Michelle, I cannot understand why I tell all of you things and no one believes me. Didn’t I tell you that you would be in a room full of friends? Didn’t I tell you that these people would be looking at you, talking to you and treating you like an adult?

So why are you so surprised when it all turned out to be the truth?